Transversely-excited film bulk acoustic resonator with tether-supported diaphragm

ABSTRACT

An acoustic resonator device includes a substrate and a piezoelectric plate. A first portion of the piezoelectric plate is on the substrate. A second portion of the piezoelectric forms a diaphragm suspended over a cavity in the substrate. An interdigital transducer (IDT) is on a surface of the piezoelectric plate, the IDT including first and second busbars on the first portion and interleaved IDT fingers on the diaphragm. A plurality of tethers support the diaphragm over the cavity, each tether providing an electrical connection between a corresponding one of the interleaved IDT fingers and one of the first and second busbars.

RELATED APPLICATION INFORMATION

This patent is a continuation of application Ser. No. 17/460,131, filedAug. 27, 2021, entitled TRANSVERSELY-EXCITED FILM BULK ACOUSTICRESONATOR WITH TETHER-SUPPORTED DIAPHRAGM, which is a continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 17/108,984, filed Dec. 1, 2020, entitledTRANSVERSELY-EXCITED FILM BULK ACOUSTIC RESONATOR WITH TETHER-SUPPORTEDDIAPHRAGM, which claims priority to provisional patent application63/067,326, filed Aug. 19, 2020, entitled XBAR WITH TETHER-SUPPORTEDDIAPHRAGM, which is incorporated herein by reference.

NOTICE OF COPYRIGHTS AND TRADE DRESS

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. This patent document may showand/or describe matter which is or may become trade dress of the owner.The copyright and trade dress owner has no objection to the facsimilereproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure as it appears in thePatent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwisereserves all copyright and trade dress rights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND Field

This disclosure relates to radio frequency filters using acoustic waveresonators, and specifically to filters for use in communicationsequipment.

Description of the Related Art

A radio frequency (RF) filter is a two-port device configured to passsome frequencies and to stop other frequencies, where “pass” meanstransmit with relatively low signal loss and “stop” means block orsubstantially attenuate. The range of frequencies passed by a filter isreferred to as the “pass-band” of the filter. The range of frequenciesstopped by such a filter is referred to as the “stop-band” of thefilter. A typical RF filter has at least one pass-band and at least onestop-band. Specific requirements on a passband or stop-band depend onthe application. For example, a “pass-band” may be defined as afrequency range where the insertion loss of a filter is better than adefined value such as 1 dB, 2 dB, or 3 dB. A “stop-band” may be definedas a frequency range where the rejection of a filter is greater than adefined value such as 20 dB, 30 dB, 40 dB, or greater depending onapplication.

RF filters are used in communications systems where information istransmitted over wireless links. For example, RF filters may be found inthe RF front-ends of cellular base stations, mobile telephone andcomputing devices, satellite transceivers and ground stations, IoT(Internet of Things) devices, laptop computers and tablets, fixed pointradio links, and other communications systems. RF filters are also usedin radar and electronic and information warfare systems.

RF filters typically require many design trade-offs to achieve, for eachspecific application, the best compromise between performance parameterssuch as insertion loss, rejection, isolation, power handling, linearity,size and cost. Specific design and manufacturing methods andenhancements can benefit simultaneously one or several of theserequirements.

Performance enhancements to the RF filters in a wireless system can havebroad impact to system performance. Improvements in RF filters can beleveraged to provide system performance improvements such as larger cellsize, longer battery life, higher data rates, greater network capacity,lower cost, enhanced security, higher reliability, etc. Theseimprovements can be realized at many levels of the wireless system bothseparately and in combination, for example at the RF module, RFtransceiver, mobile or fixed sub-system, or network levels.

High performance RF filters for present communication systems commonlyincorporate acoustic wave resonators including surface acoustic wave(SAW) resonators, bulk acoustic wave (BAW) resonators, film bulkacoustic wave resonators (FBAR), and other types of acoustic resonators.However, these existing technologies are not well-suited for use at thehigher frequencies and bandwidths proposed for future communicationsnetworks.

The desire for wider communication channel bandwidths will inevitablylead to the use of higher frequency communications bands. Radio accesstechnology for mobile telephone networks has been standardized by the3GPP (3^(rd) Generation Partnership Project). Radio access technologyfor 5^(th) generation (5G) mobile networks is defined in the 5G NR (newradio) standard. The 5G NR standard defines several new communicationsbands. Two of these new communications bands are n77, which uses thefrequency range from 3300 MHz to 4200 MHz, and n79, which uses thefrequency range from 4400 MHz to 5000 MHz. Both band n77 and band n79use time-division duplexing (TDD), such that a communications deviceoperating in band n77 and/or band n79 use the same frequencies for bothuplink and downlink transmissions. Bandpass filters for bands n77 andn79 must be capable of handling the transmit power of the communicationsdevice. WiFi bands at 5 GHz and 6 GHz also require high frequency andwide bandwidth. The 5G NR standard also defines millimeter wavecommunication bands with frequencies between 24.25 GHz and 40 GHz.

The Transversely-Excited Film Bulk Acoustic Resonator (XBAR) is anacoustic resonator structure for use in microwave filters. The XBAR isdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 10,491,291, titled TRANSVERSELY EXCITED FILMBULK ACOUSTIC RESONATOR. An XBAR resonator comprises an interdigitaltransducer (IDT) formed on a thin floating layer, or diaphragm, of asingle-crystal piezoelectric material. The IDT includes a first set ofparallel fingers, extending from a first busbar and a second set ofparallel fingers extending from a second busbar. The first and secondsets of parallel fingers are interleaved. A microwave signal applied tothe IDT excites a shear primary acoustic wave in the piezoelectricdiaphragm. XBAR resonators provide very high electromechanical couplingand high frequency capability. XBAR resonators may be used in a varietyof RF filters including band-reject filters, band-pass filters,duplexers, and multiplexers. XBARs are well suited for use in filtersfor communications bands with frequencies above 3 GHz.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 includes a schematic plan view, two schematic cross-sectionalviews, and a detail view of a transversely-excited film bulk acousticresonator (XBAR).

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an XBAR with a tether-supported diaphragm.

FIG. 3A is a schematic cross-sectional view of the XBAR with atether-supported diaphragm at a section C-C defined in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 3B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the XBAR with atether-supported diaphragm at a section D-D defined in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 4A is a schematic cross-sectional view of the XBAR with atether-supported diaphragm at a section E-E defined in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 4B is an alternative schematic cross-sectional view of the XBARwith a tether-supported diaphragm at a section E-E defined in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view illustrating flexion of a single tether.

FIG. 6 is a graph of the displacement of the diaphragm of a conventionalXBAR and a tether-supported diaphragm due to a twenty-degree temperaturechange.

FIG. 7 is flow chart of a method for fabricating an XBAR with atether-supported diaphragm.

Throughout this description, elements appearing in figures are assignedthree-digit or four-digit reference designators, where the two leastsignificant digits are specific to the element and the one or two mostsignificant digit is the figure number where the element is firstintroduced. An element that is not described in conjunction with afigure may be presumed to have the same characteristics and function asa previously-described element having the same reference designator.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Description of Apparatus

FIG. 1 shows a simplified schematic top view and orthogonalcross-sectional views of an XBAR 100. XBAR resonators such as theresonator 100 may be used in a variety of RF filters includingband-reject filters, band-pass filters, duplexers, and multiplexers.

The XBAR 100 is made up of a thin film conductor pattern formed on asurface of a piezoelectric plate 110 having parallel front and backsurfaces 112, 114, respectively. The piezoelectric plate is a thinsingle-crystal layer of a piezoelectric material such as lithiumniobate, lithium tantalate, lanthanum gallium silicate, gallium nitride,or aluminum nitride. The piezoelectric plate is cut such that theorientation of the X, Y, and Z crystalline axes with respect to thefront and back surfaces is known and consistent. The piezoelectric platemay be Z-cut, which is to say the Z axis is normal to the front and backsurfaces 112, 114. The piezoelectric plate may be rotated Z-cut orrotated YX-cut. XBARs may be fabricated on piezoelectric plates withother crystallographic orientations.

The back surface 114 of the piezoelectric plate 110 is attached to asurface of a substrate 120 except for a portion of the piezoelectricplate 110 that forms a diaphragm 115 spanning a cavity 140 formed in thesubstrate. The portion of the piezoelectric plate that spans the cavityis referred to herein as the “diaphragm” 115 due to its physicalresemblance to the diaphragm of a microphone. As shown in FIG. 1 , thediaphragm 115 is contiguous with the rest of the piezoelectric plate 110around all of a perimeter 145 of the cavity 140. In this context,“contiguous” means “continuously connected without any interveningitem”. In other configurations, the diaphragm 115 may be contiguous withthe piezoelectric plate around at least 50% of the perimeter 145 of thecavity 140.

The substrate 120 provides mechanical support to the piezoelectric plate110. The substrate 120 may be, for example, silicon, sapphire, quartz,or some other material or combination of materials. The back surface 114of the piezoelectric plate 110 may be bonded to the substrate 120 usinga wafer bonding process. Alternatively, the piezoelectric plate 110 maybe grown on the substrate 120 or attached to the substrate in some othermanner. The piezoelectric plate 110 may be attached directly to thesubstrate or may be attached to the substrate 120 via one or moreintermediate material layers (not shown in FIG. 1 ).

“Cavity” has its conventional meaning of “an empty space within a solidbody.” The cavity 140 may be a hole completely through the substrate 120(as shown in Section A-A and Section B-B) or a recess in the substrate120 under the diaphragm 115 (as shown in FIG. 4B). The cavity 140 may beformed, for example, by selective etching of the substrate 120 before orafter the piezoelectric plate 110 and the substrate 120 are attached.

The conductor pattern of the XBAR 100 includes an interdigitaltransducer (IDT) 130. The IDT 130 includes a first plurality of parallelfingers, such as finger 136, extending from a first busbar 132 and asecond plurality of fingers extending from a second busbar 134. The term“busbar” means a conductor from which the fingers of an IDT extend. Thefirst and second pluralities of parallel fingers are interleaved. Theinterleaved fingers overlap for a distance AP, commonly referred to asthe “aperture” of the IDT. The center-to-center distance L between theoutermost fingers of the IDT 130 is the “length” of the IDT.

The first and second busbars 132, 134 serve as the terminals of the XBAR100. A radio frequency or microwave signal applied between the twobusbars 132, 134 of the IDT 130 excites a primary acoustic mode withinthe piezoelectric plate 110. The primary acoustic mode is a bulk shearmode where acoustic energy propagates along a direction substantiallyorthogonal to the surface of the piezoelectric plate 110, which is alsonormal, or transverse, to the direction of the electric field created bythe IDT fingers. Thus, the XBAR is considered a transversely-excitedfilm bulk wave resonator.

The IDT 130 is positioned on the piezoelectric plate 110 such that atleast the fingers of the IDT 130 are disposed on the diaphragm 115 thatspans, or is suspended over, the cavity 140. As shown in FIG. 1 , thecavity 140 has a rectangular shape with an extent greater than theaperture AP and length L of the IDT 130. A cavity of an XBAR may have adifferent shape, such as a regular or irregular polygon. The cavity ofan XBAR may more or fewer than four sides, which may be straight orcurved.

For ease of presentation in FIG. 1 , the geometric pitch and width ofthe IDT fingers is greatly exaggerated with respect to the length(dimension L) and aperture (dimension AP) of the XBAR. A typical XBARhas more than ten parallel fingers in the IDT 130. An XBAR may havehundreds, possibly thousands, of parallel fingers in the IDT 130.Similarly, the thicknesses of the IDT fingers and the piezoelectricplate in the cross-sectional views are greatly exaggerated.

Referring now to the detailed schematic cross-sectional view, afront-side dielectric layer 150 may optionally be formed on the frontside of the piezoelectric plate 110. The “front side” of the XBAR is, bydefinition, the surface facing away from the substrate. The front-sidedielectric layer 150 may be formed only between the IDT fingers (e.g.IDT finger 138 b) or may be deposited as a blanket layer such that thedielectric layer is formed both between and over the IDT fingers (e.g.IDT finger 138 a). The front-side dielectric layer 150 may be anon-piezoelectric dielectric material, such as silicon dioxide, alumina,or silicon nitride. A thickness of the front side dielectric layer 150is typically less than about one-third of the thickness of thepiezoelectric plate 110. The front-side dielectric layer 150 may beformed of multiple layers of two or more materials. In someapplications, a back-side dielectric layer (not shown) may be formed onthe back side of the piezoelectric plate 110.

The IDT fingers 138 a, 138 b may be one or more layers of aluminum, analuminum alloy, copper, a copper alloy, beryllium, gold, tungsten,molybdenum, chromium, titanium or some other conductive material. TheIDT fingers are considered to be “substantially aluminum” if they areformed from aluminum or an alloy comprising at least 50% aluminum. TheIDT fingers are considered to be “substantially copper” if they areformed from copper or an alloy comprising at least 50% copper. Thin(relative to the total thickness of the conductors) layers of metalssuch as chromium or titanium may be formed under and/or over and/or aslayers within the fingers to improve adhesion between the fingers andthe piezoelectric plate 110 and/or to passivate or encapsulate thefingers and/or to improve power handling. The busbars (132, 134 in FIG.1 ) of the IDT may be made of the same or different materials as thefingers.

Dimension p is the center-to-center spacing or “pitch” of the IDTfingers, which may be referred to as the pitch of the IDT and/or thepitch of the XBAR. Dimension w is the width or “mark” of the IDTfingers. The geometry of the IDT of an XBAR differs substantially fromthe IDTs used in surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators. In a SAWresonator, the pitch of the IDT is one-half of the acoustic wavelengthat the resonance frequency. Additionally, the mark-to-pitch ratio of aSAW resonator IDT is typically close to 0.5 (i.e. the mark or fingerwidth is about one-fourth of the acoustic wavelength at resonance). Inan XBAR, the pitch p of the IDT is typically 2 to 20 times the width wof the fingers. In addition, the pitch p of the IDT is typically 2 to 20times the thickness of the piezoelectric plate 210. The width of the IDTfingers in an XBAR is not constrained to be near one-fourth of theacoustic wavelength at resonance. For example, the width of XBAR IDTfingers may be 500 nm or greater, such that the IDT can be readilyfabricated using optical lithography. The thickness of the IDT fingersmay be from 100 nm to about equal to the width w. The thickness of thebusbars (132, 134) of the IDT may be the same as, or greater than, thethickness tm of the IDT fingers.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an XBAR 200 with a tether-supported diaphragm.Like the XBAR 100 of FIG. 1 , the XBAR 200 has a piezoelectric plate210. A cavity 240 having a perimeter 245 is formed in a substrate (notvisible) beneath the piezoelectric plate 210. A first portion (i.e. theportion outside of the cavity perimeter 245) of the piezoelectric plate210 is attached to the substrate. Another portion of the piezoelectricplate 210 forms a diaphragm 215 suspended over the cavity 240. Unlikethe diaphragm 115 of FIG. 1 , the diaphragm 215 is not contiguous withthe rest of the piezoelectric plate 210. Rather, the diaphragm 215 isseparated from the piezoelectric plate by space open to the cavity 240.The open space is bridged only by a plurality of tethers, of whichtethers 250 and 252 are identified in FIG. 2 .

The tethers, such as tethers 250, 252, serve three purposes. First, thetethers provide mechanical support to suspend the diaphragm 215 over thecavity 240. Second, the tethers provide, by flexing, a means to absorbstresses placed on the diaphragm by changes in the device temperature.Third, the tethers provide electrical and thermal connections from firstand second IDT busbars 232, 234 to the interleaved IDT fingers (of whichonly IDT fingers 236, 238 are identified in FIG. 2 ) disposed on thediaphragm 215. The first and second busbars 232, 234 are disposed on thefirst portion (the portion attached to the substrate) of thepiezoelectric plate 210 on opposite sides of the cavity 240. Since eachIDT finger must be connected to one of the busbars 232, 234, there is aone-to-one correspondence between IDT fingers and tethers. Alternate IDTfingers are connected to either busbar 232 or busbar 234 via respectivetethers.

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are cross-sectional views of the XBAR 200 atsections C-C and D-D, respectively. As identified in FIG. 2 , sectionsC-C and D-D are not planar. Section C-C follows a path along the centerof tether 250 and IDT finger 236. Section D-D follows a path along thecenter of tether 252 and IDT finger 238.

Referring back to FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, the piezoelectric plate 210 isattached to a substrate 320. The piezoelectric plate 210 may besingle-crystal lithium niobate, lithium tantalate, or some otherpiezoelectric material. The orientation of the axes of the piezoelectricplate 210 are known and consistent. The piezoelectric plate 210 may beZ-cut, rotated Z-cut, rotated YX cut, or some other orientation. Thesubstrate 320 may be silicon or some other material that can beanisotropically etched to form the cavity 240.

The diaphragm 215 is a portion of the piezoelectric plate 210. The IDTfingers 236/238 are formed by a first conductor level 362. The firstconductor level 362 may be one or more layers of metal as previouslydescribed. The diaphragm 215 is suspended over the cavity 240 andsupported by the tethers 250, 252. The tethers 250,252 are formed byportions of the piezoelectric plate 210 and the first conductor level362. A second conductor level 364 may be formed over all or portions ofthe busbars 232, 234 to improve thermal and electric conductivity.

FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B are alternative cross-sectional views of the XBAR200 at section E-E defined in FIG. 2 . These views of the XBAR 200 arecomparable to the cross-sectional view A-A of the XBAR 100 shown in FIG.1 .

Portions of the piezoelectric plate 210 are attached to and supported bythe substrate 320. A portion of the piezoelectric plate 210 forms thediaphragm 215 suspended over a cavity 240, 240′ formed in the substrate320. Unlike the XBAR 100 of FIG. 1 , the diaphragm 215 of the XBAR 200is not contiguous with the supported portions of the piezoelectric plate210, but is separated from the supported portions of the piezoelectricplate 210 by spaces 410, 415. Interleaved IDT fingers, such as fingers236, 238, are disposed on the diaphragm 215. The IDT fingers are formedof a first conductor level 362.

In FIG. 4A, the cavity 240 penetrates completely though the substrate320. In FIG. 4B, the cavity 240′ is a recess in the substrate 320. Inthis case, the cavity 240′ may be formed by etching the substrate usingan etchant introduced through the spaces around the diaphragm 215 andspaces between the tethers (not visible in FIG. 4A or 4B).

Although not shown in FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, FIG. 4A, and FIG. 4B, the XBAR200 may include one or more dielectric layers. For example, the XBAR 200may include a bonding layer disposed between the substrate 320 and thepiezoelectric plate 210. When the substrate is silicon, the bondinglayer may be, for example, silicon dioxide. When a bonding layer ispresent between the substrate 320 and the piezoelectric plate 210, thebonding layer may remain or be removed from the back side (i.e. the sidefacing the cavity 240) of the diaphragm 215.

When multiple XBARs are connected in a ladder filter circuit, adielectric frequency setting layer may be formed over the diaphragms andIDT fingers of shunt resonators to lower the resonance frequencies ofthe shunt resonators relative to the resonance frequencies of seriesresonators. Further, a thin passivation dielectric layer may be appliedover most or all of the XBAR 200 to passivate and seal the surface.

FIG. 5 is an expanded plan view of a single tether 550. The line 515 isthe edge of a diaphragm, and the line 532 is the edge of an IDT busbarand cavity. The region between the edge of the diaphragm 515 and theedge of the busbar 532 is a space open to a cavity 540 beneath thediaphragm. A plurality of tethers, including tether 550, span this spaceto hold the diaphragm 515 suspended over the cavity 540. The tether 550provides electric and thermal connections between the busbar 532 and anIDT finger 536 disposed on the surface of the diaphragm 515.

The tether 550 includes a first segment 552 extending from the busbar532, a third segment 556 extending from the diaphragm 515, and a secondsegment 554 connecting the first and third sections 552, 556. The secondsegment 554 is configured to flex in the plane of the diaphragm. To thisend, the second segment 554 forms an oblique angle with respect to theside of the busbar 532 and the long direction of the IDT finger 536,which is to say the second segment 554 is not parallel to orperpendicular to either the side of the busbar 532 and the longdirection of the IDT finger 536. For example, the angle θ between theside of the second segment 554 and the long direction of the IDT finger536 may be 30 to 60 degrees.

In the example of FIG. 5 , the first segment 552 extends perpendicularlyfrom the edge of the busbar 532. The first segment 552 may extend fromthe side of the busbar 532 at some other angle. The first segment 552may not be present, in which case the second segment 554 will extendfrom the side of the busbar 532 at an oblique angle.

In the example of FIG. 5 , the third segment 556 extends perpendicularlyfrom the edge of the diaphragm 515 and is colinear with thecorresponding IDT finger 536. The third segment 556 may extend from theside of the diaphragm 515 at some other angle. The third segment 556 maynot be present, in which case the second segment 554 will extend fromthe side of the diaphragm 515 at an oblique angle.

The distance, at a nominal temperature, between the side of the busbar532 and the side of the diaphragm 515 is the dimension d4, which is thetotal distance spanned by the tether 550. The second segment 554 of thetether 550 spans a distance d2, which is greater than or equal to 50% ofd4. In other words, d2≥d1+d3, where d1 and d3 are that distances spannedby the first and third tether segments 552, 556. Either or both of d1and d3 may be zero. All of d1, d2, d3, and d4 are measured perpendicularto the side of the busbar 532.

The tether 550 may have some shape other than three straight sections.For example, some or all of the corners where the segments 552, 554, 556intersect may be rounded. The tether 550 may be continuously curved, inwhich case at least a potion of the curved tether forms an oblique anglewith respect to the side of the busbar 532 and the long direction of theIDT finger 536.

When an XBAR is used in a filter, some power is dissipated on thediaphragm due to resistive losses in the IDT fingers and acoustic orviscose losses in the IDT fingers and the diaphragm itself. The primarypath for removing heat from the diaphragm is conduction along the IDTfingers to the busbar and then to the device substrate. The presence oftethers increases the length of the heat flow path from the diaphragm tothe substrate compared to a conventional XBAR. To reduce the impact ofthe longer heat flow path, the width (dimension wt in FIG. 5 ) of thetethers may be larger than the width (dimension w in FIG. 5 ) of the IDTfingers. The width of the tethers may be, for example, p/2, where p isthe pitch of the IDT.

All of the components of an XBAR have a respective temperaturecoefficient of expansion (TCE). A preferred substrate for XBAR devicesis a silicon wafer, which has low cost and well-developed processes forforming cavities. However, the TCE of silicon is substantially lowerthan the TCE of lithium niobate or lithium tantalate, which are thepreferred materials for the piezoelectric plate. The expansion orcontraction of the diaphragm of an XBAR in response to a change intemperature will be greater in magnitude than the expansion orcontraction of the surrounding area (which is dominated by the low TCEof the silicon substrate). The difference in expansion or contractioncan cause bowing or rippling of the diaphragm.

In FIG. 5 , the dashed line 515′ represents the position of the edge ofthe diaphragm (relative to the edge of the busbar 532) after atemperature increase of 25 degrees Celsius. The dimension d4′ is the newdistance from the edge of the busbar 532 to the edge of the diaphragm515′, which is less than the original distance d4. The new position andshape of the tether 550′ is shown in dashed lines. The tether 550′ hasflexed to absorb the change in the distance from the edge of the busbarto the edge of the diaphragm.

FIG. 6 is a graph of the displacement of the diaphragm of a conventionalXBAR and a tether-supported diaphragm due to a twenty-degree temperaturechange. Specifically, the solid line 610 is a plot of the displacementnormal to the plane of the diaphragm for a diaphragm that is fullycontiguous with the rest of the piezoelectric plate as shown in FIG. 1 .A temperature change of 20 degrees causes the diaphragm to ripple with apeak-to-peak amplitude of 850 nm. The displacement along the center ofthe diaphragm was determined by simulation using a finite elementmethod. In this example, the aperture and length of the IDT are 50microns and 325 microns, respectively.

The dashed line 620 is a plot of the displacement normal to the plane ofthe diaphragm for a tether supported diaphragm as shown in FIG. 2 . Atemperature change of 20 degrees causes the diaphragm to curl up about40 nm at the ends of the IDT. The difference between the solid line 610and the dashed line 620 is evidence of the effectiveness of the tethersfor absorbing differences in the TCE of the diaphragm and the substrateand thus reducing stress in the diaphragm.

Description of Methods

FIG. 7 is a simplified flow chart of a process 700 for making an XBARwith a tether-supported diaphragm or a filter incorporating such XBARs.The process 700 starts at 705 with a substrate and a plate ofpiezoelectric material and ends at 795 with a completed XBAR or filter.The flow chart of FIG. 7 includes only major process steps. Variousconventional process steps (e.g. surface preparation, cleaning,inspection, baking, annealing, monitoring, testing, etc.) may beperformed before, between, after, and during the steps shown in FIG. 7 .

The piezoelectric plate may be, for example, lithium niobate or lithiumtantalate. The piezoelectric plate may be Z-cut, rotated Z-cut, orrotated YX-cut. The piezoelectric plate may be some other materialand/or some other cut. The substrate may be a silicon wafer or a siliconon insulator wafer. The substrate may be a wafer of some other materialthat allows formation of deep cavities by etching or other processing.

The substrate and the piezoelectric plate will be bonded together at720. Prior to bonding, optional steps may be taken to prepare thesubstrate. For example, at 710A, lateral and/or vertical etch stops maybe formed in the substrate. A lateral etch stop is a structure toconstrain the lateral extend of a subsequently etched cavity. A verticaletch stop is a structure to limit the depth of a subsequently etchedcavity. Lateral and vertical etch stops may be formed in the substrateas described in pending patent application Ser. No. 16/913,417, titledTRANSVERSELY-EXCITED FILM BULK ACOUSTIC RESONATOR WITH LATERAL ETCHSTOP, which is incorporated herein by reference. Alternatively, at 710B,the cavities may be formed in the substrate and then filled with asacrificial material that will be subsequently removed.

At 720, the piezoelectric plate is bonded to the substrate. Thepiezoelectric plate and the substrate may be bonded by a wafer bondingprocess. Typically, the mating surfaces of the substrate and thepiezoelectric plate are highly polished. One or more layers ofintermediate materials, such as an oxide or metal, may be formed ordeposited on the mating surface of one or both of the piezoelectricplate and the substrate. One or both mating surfaces may be activatedusing, for example, a plasma process. The mating surfaces may then bepressed together with considerable force to establish molecular bondsbetween the piezoelectric plate and the substrate or intermediatematerial layers.

A conductor pattern, including IDTs of each XBAR, is formed at 730 bydepositing and patterning one or more conductor layer on the front sideof the piezoelectric plate. The conductor layers may be, for example,aluminum, an aluminum alloy, copper, a copper alloy, titanium, chrome,tungsten, molybdenum, or some other conductive metal. Optionally, one ormore layers of other materials may be disposed below (i.e. between theconductor layer and the piezoelectric plate) and/or on top of theconductor layer. For example, a thin film of titanium, chrome, or othermetal may be used to improve the adhesion between a conductor layer andthe piezoelectric plate. The conductor pattern formed at 730 includesthe first metal level 362 of the IDT fingers, the tethers, and thebusbars. The conductor pattern formed at 730 may also include the secondconductor level 364 to improve the electrical and thermal conductivityof portions of the conductor pattern (for example the IDT busbars andinterconnections between the IDTs).

The conductor pattern may be formed at 730 by depositing the conductorlayers and, optionally, one or more other metal layers in sequence overthe surface of the piezoelectric plate. The excess metal may then beremoved by etching through patterned photoresist. The conductor layercan be etched, for example, by plasma etching, reactive ion etching, wetchemical etching, and other etching techniques.

Alternatively, the conductor pattern may be formed at 730 using alift-off process. Photoresist may be deposited over the piezoelectricplate. and patterned to define the conductor pattern. The conductorlayers and, optionally, one or more other layers may be deposited insequence over the surface of the piezoelectric plate. The photoresistmay then be removed, which removes the excess material, leaving theconductor pattern.

The two metal levels 362, 364 (shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B) and/or layerswithin either metal level may be deposited and patterned using differentprocesses.

At 740, a front-side dielectric layer may be formed by depositing one ormore layers of dielectric material on the front side of thepiezoelectric plate. The one or more dielectric layers may be depositedusing a conventional deposition technique such as sputtering,evaporation, or chemical vapor deposition. The one or more dielectriclayers may be deposited over the entire surface of the piezoelectricplate, including on top of the conductor pattern. Alternatively, one ormore lithography processes (using photomasks) may be used to limit thedeposition of the dielectric layers to selected areas of thepiezoelectric plate, such as only between the interleaved fingers of theIDTs. Masks may also be used to allow deposition of differentthicknesses of dielectric materials on different portions of thepiezoelectric plate.

After the conductor pattern and dielectric layers are formed, thetethers may be defined at 745 by etching the piezoelectric plate betweenthe tethers and around the perimeter of the diaphragm.

One or more cavities are then formed in the substrate at 750. A separatecavity may be formed for each resonator in a filter device. For example,the one or more cavities may be formed by etching the substrate using anetchant introduced through openings in the piezoelectric plate formed at745. A separate cavity may be formed for each resonator in a filterdevice. The extent of the cavities may be defined by lateral and/orvertical etch stops previously formed in the substrate at 710A.Alternatively, the cavities may be formed at 750 by etching or otherwiseremoving the sacrificial material filling the cavities previously formedat 710B.

In all variation of the process 700, the filter device is completed at760. Actions that may occur at 760 include depositing anencapsulation/passivation layer such as SiO₂ or Si₃O₄ over all or aportion of the device; forming bonding pads or solder bumps or othermeans for making connection between the device and external circuitry;excising individual devices from a wafer containing multiple devices;other packaging steps; and testing. Another action that may occur at 760is to tune the resonant frequencies of the resonators within the deviceby adding or removing metal or dielectric material from the front sideof the device. After the filter device is completed, the process ends at795.

Closing Comments

Throughout this description, the embodiments and examples shown shouldbe considered as exemplars, rather than limitations on the apparatus andprocedures disclosed or claimed. Although many of the examples presentedherein involve specific combinations of method acts or system elements,it should be understood that those acts and those elements may becombined in other ways to accomplish the same objectives. With regard toflowcharts, additional and fewer steps may be taken, and the steps asshown may be combined or further refined to achieve the methodsdescribed herein. Acts, elements and features discussed only inconnection with one embodiment are not intended to be excluded from asimilar role in other embodiments.

As used herein, “plurality” means two or more. As used herein, a “set”of items may include one or more of such items. As used herein, whetherin the written description or the claims, the terms “comprising”,“including”, “carrying”, “having”, “containing”, “involving”, and thelike are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including butnot limited to. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of” and“consisting essentially of”, respectively, are closed or semi-closedtransitional phrases with respect to claims. Use of ordinal terms suchas “first”, “second”, “third”, etc., in the claims to modify a claimelement does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order ofone claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of amethod are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish oneclaim element having a certain name from another element having a samename (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claimelements. As used herein, “and/or” means that the listed items arealternatives, but the alternatives also include any combination of thelisted items.

It is claimed:
 1. An acoustic resonator device comprising: a substrate;at least one piezoelectric plate, a first portion of the at least onepiezoelectric plate on the substrate, and a second portion of the atleast one piezoelectric plate forming a diaphragm suspended over acavity; an interdigital transducer (IDT) on a surface of the at leastone piezoelectric plate, the IDT comprising first and second busbars atleast partially on the first portion and interleaved IDT fingers on thediaphragm; and a plurality of tethers, each tether connecting acorresponding one of the interleaved IDT fingers to one of the first andsecond busbars.
 2. The acoustic resonator device of claim 1, whereineach tether provides one of a thermal connection or a flexibleconnection between a corresponding one of the interleaved IDT fingersand one of the first and second busbars.
 3. The acoustic resonatordevice of claim 1, wherein the first and second busbars are on oppositesides of the cavity, and the interleaved IDT fingers are connected tothe first and second busbars, alternately.
 4. The acoustic resonatordevice of claim 1, wherein the interleaved IDT fingers comprise a firstconductor level, each tether of the plurality of tethers comprises thefirst conductor level and a corresponding section of the at least onepiezoelectric plate connecting the first portion and the diaphragm, andeach of the first and second busbars comprises the first conductor leveland a second conductor level.
 5. The acoustic resonator device of claim1, wherein a portion of each tether of the plurality of tethers forms anoblique angle with a long direction of the corresponding interleaved IDTfinger, and the oblique angle is greater than or equal to 30 degrees andless than or equal to 60 degrees.
 6. The acoustic resonator device ofclaim 1, wherein each tether of the plurality of tethers is continuouslycurved, and a width of each tether of the plurality of tethers isgreater than a width of the corresponding IDT finger.
 7. The acousticresonator device of claim 1, wherein each tether of the plurality oftethers comprises: a first segment extending from the first or secondbusbar; a third segment extending from the diaphragm colinear with acorresponding IDT finger; and a second segment joining the first segmentand the third segment, the second segment forming an oblique angle witha long direction of the corresponding IDT finger.
 8. An acousticresonator device comprising: at least one piezoelectric plate on asubstrate, a portion of the at least one piezoelectric plate forming adiaphragm suspended over a cavity; an interdigital transducer (IDT) onthe at least one piezoelectric plate, the IDT comprising interleaved IDTfingers on the diaphragm and first and second busbars not on at least aportion of the diaphragm; and a plurality of tethers, each tetherconnecting a corresponding one of the interleaved IDT fingers and one ofthe first and second busbars by spanning an open space between thediaphragm and the one of the first and second busbars.
 9. The acousticresonator device of claim 8, wherein each tether provides one of athermal connection or a flexible connection between a corresponding oneof the interleaved IDT fingers and one of the first and second busbars.10. The acoustic resonator device of claim 8, wherein the first andsecond busbars are on opposite sides of the cavity, and the interleavedIDT fingers are connected to the first or second busbar, alternately.11. The acoustic resonator device of claim 8, wherein the interleavedIDT fingers comprise a first conductor level, each tether of theplurality of tethers comprises the first conductor level and acorresponding portion of the at least one piezoelectric plate, and eachof the first and second busbars comprises the first conductor level anda second conductor level.
 12. The acoustic resonator device of claim 8,wherein a section of each tether of the plurality of tethers forms anoblique angle with a long direction of the corresponding interleaved IDTfinger, and the oblique angle is greater than or equal to 30 degrees andless than or equal to 60 degrees.
 13. The acoustic resonator device ofclaim 8, wherein each tether of the plurality of tethers comprises: afirst segment extending from the first or second busbar; a third segmentextending from the diaphragm colinear with the corresponding IDT finger;and a second segment joining the first segment and the third segment,the second segment forming the oblique angle with the long direction ofthe corresponding interleaved IDT finger.
 14. The acoustic resonatordevice of claim 8, wherein each tether of the plurality of tethers iscontinuously curved, and a width of each tether of the plurality oftethers is greater than a width of the corresponding interleaved IDTfinger.
 15. An acoustic resonator device comprising: a substrate; atleast one piezoelectric plate, a first portion of the at least onepiezoelectric plate on the substrate, and a second portion of the atleast one piezoelectric plate forming a diaphragm suspended over acavity; an interdigital transducer (IDT) on a surface of the at leastone piezoelectric plate, the IDT comprising: first and second busbars atleast partially on the first portion; interleaved IDT fingers on thediaphragm; and a plurality of tethers on the second portion of the atleast one piezoelectric plate, each tether providing a flexibleconnection between a corresponding one of the interleaved IDT fingersand one of the first and second busbars.
 16. The acoustic resonatordevice of claim 15, wherein each tether provides one of a mechanicallysupporting connection, a thermal connection or an electrical connectionbetween a corresponding one of the interleaved IDT fingers and one ofthe first and second busbars.
 17. The acoustic resonator device of claim15, wherein the first and second busbars are on opposite sides of thecavity, and the interleaved IDT fingers are connected to the first orsecond busbar, alternately.
 18. The acoustic resonator device of claim15, wherein the interleaved IDT fingers comprise a first conductorlevel, each tether of the plurality of tethers comprises the firstconductor level and a corresponding portion of the at least onepiezoelectric plate, and each of the first and second busbars comprisesthe first conductor level and a second conductor level.
 19. The acousticresonator device of claim 15, wherein a section of each tether of theplurality of tethers forms an oblique angle with a long direction of thecorresponding interleaved IDT finger, and the oblique angle is greaterthan or equal to 30 degrees and less than or equal to 60 degrees. 20.The acoustic resonator device of claim 15, wherein each tether of theplurality of tethers is continuously curved, and a width of each tetherof the plurality of tethers is greater than a width of the correspondinginterleaved IDT finger.